Published 8:26 pm, Monday, April 2, 2018

AT&T described the move not as layoffs, but as a workplace shift and countered that it’s “not eliminating any jobs.”

“There’s a job in San Antonio, and a relocation allowance, for every affected employee, and we hope they will remain with us,” Marty Richter with AT&T Corporate Communications said in an email. “There also will be other opportunities available in the Houston area, and we will work to find jobs for as many affected employees as possible.”

The company hired more than 2,500 employees in Texas in 2017, “nearly 300 so far this year, and we’re currently hiring over 260 more across the state,” he added.

The 117 affected employees are call center workers in Houston “who do customer retention work in support our legacy landline services,” he said, referring to a declining segment of the company’s portfolio.

“Due to a reduction in call volume and to efficiency, we are consolidating call center work currently done there into another center in San Antonio. All affected employees will be offered the opportunity to work there.”